Modification of sulfur cathode by CeO2-C composite hollow spheres and research on electrochemical performance
LI Neng1, QIN Bihui1, HUANG Suping2, XIAO Qi1
1. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; 2. State Key laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Abstract:CeO2-C composite hollow spheres materials were synthesized by solvent-free template method using 3-aminophenol formaldehyde (APF) resin spheres and cerium nitrate hexahydrate (Ce (NO3)3·6H2O) as raw materials. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-raydiffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), etc. In addition, commercial conductive carbon black was used as the sulfur host material, and the prepared CeO2-C composite hollow spheres were used as an additive to modify the sulfur cathode material. The electrochemical performance of the modified sulfur cathode material was tested by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), electrochemical impedance (EIS), etc. The results show that the sulfur cathodes modified by CeO2-C composite hollow spheres exhibit higher initial discharge capacity of 1 125 mAh/g at 0.2 C, and the lower capacity decay rate of 0.083% per cycle at 1 C after 500 cycles. Using commercial conductive carbon black as sulfur carrier and adding a small amount of CeO2-Ccomposite hollow sphere modifier to prepare sulfur cathode can effectively improve the electrochemical performance of lithium sulfur battery without changing the current preparation process of lithium sulfur battery, showing great application potential.
[1] WANG X J, FENG J, BAI Y C, et al.Synthesispropertiesand applications of hollow micro-nanostructures[J]. Chemical Reviews, 2016, 116(18): 10983-11060. [2] YU L, HU H, WU H B, et al.Complex hollow nanostructures: Synthesis and energy-related applications[J]. Advanced Materials, 2017, 29(15):1604563-1604602. [3] CHAI L L, ZHANG L J, WANG X, et al.Bottom-up synthesis of MOF-derived hollow N-doped carbon materials for enhanced ORR performance[J]. Carbon, 2019, 146: 248-256. [4] KHODABAKHSHI S, KIANIA S, NIU Y B, et al.Facile and environmentally friendly synthesis of ultramicroporous carbon spheres: A significant improvement in CVD method[J]. Carbon, 2021, 171: 426-436. [5] ZHANG J T, ZHANG T, MA J, et al.ORR and OER of Co-N codoped carbon-based electrocatalysts enhanced by boundary layer oxygen molecules transfer[J]. Carbon, 2021, 172: 556-568. [6] 陈儒, 方国赵, 谭小平, 等. 多孔V2O5微球的制备与电化学性能[J]. 粉末冶金材料科学与工程, 2019, 24(1): 80-88. CHEN Ru, FANG Guozhao, TAN Xiaoping, et al.Synthesis and electrochemical performance of porous V2O5 microspheres[J]. Materials Science and Engineering of Powder Metallurgy, 2019, 24(1): 80-88. [7] WANG J, YANG H, CHEN Z, et al.Double-shelled phosphorus and nitrogen codoped carbon nanospheres as efficient polysulfide mediator for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Advanced Science, 2018, 5(11): 1800621-1800632. [8] PEI F, AN T H, ZANG J, et al.From hollow carbon spheres to N-doped hollow porous carbon bowls: Rational design of hollow carbon host for Li-S batteries[J]. Advanced Energy Materials, 2016, 6(8): 1502539-1502547. [9] REN L M, WU Q M, YANG C G, et al.Solvent-free synthesis of zeolites from solid raw materials[J]. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2012, 134(37): 15173-15176. [10] GAO X M, CHEN Z, YAO Y, et al.Direct heating amino acids with silica: A universal solvent-free assembly approach to highly nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon materials[J]. Advanced Functional Materials, 2016, 26(36):6649-6661. [11] DAI S, LIU F J, HUANG K, et al.Solvent-free self-assembly to the synthesis of nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous polymers for highly selective capture and conversion of CO2[J]. Advanced Materials, 2017, 29(27): 1700445-1700453. [12] DAI S, XIONG H L, ZHOU H R, et al.Solvent-free self- assembly for scalable preparation of highly crystalline mesoporous metal oxides[J]. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2020, 59(27): 11053-11060. [13] DAI S, AKSAY I.Structural design of cathodes for Li-S batteries[J]. Advanced Energy Materials, 2015, 5(16): 1500124-1500146. [14] SONG M Y, CAIRNS E, ZHANG Y G.Lithium/sulfur batteries with high specific energy: Old challenges and new opportunities[J]. Nanoscale, 2013, 5(6): 2186-2204. [15] ZHOU L, DANILOV D, EICHEL R, et al.Host materials anchoring polysulfides in Li-S batteries reviewed[J]. Advanced Energy Materials, 2020, 11(15): 2001304-2001353. [16] LIN L L, PEI F, PENG J, et al.Fiber network composed of interconnected yolk-shell carbon nanospheres for high- performance lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Nano Energy, 2018, 54: 50-58. [17] CHEN M Q, SU Z, JIANG K, et al.Promoting sulfur immobilization by a hierarchical morphology of hollow carbon nanosphere clusters for high-stability Li-S battery[J]. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2019, 7(11): 6250-6258. [18] YU Z S, LIU M L, GUO D Y, et al.Radially inwardly aligned hierarchical porous carbon for ultra-long-life lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2020, 59(16): 6406-6411. [19] TU S B, ZHAO X X, CHENG M R, et al.Uniform mesoporous MnO2 nanospheres as a surface chemical adsorption and physical confinement polysulfide mediator for lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Acs Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2019, 11(11): 10624-10630. [20] ZHANG M, SONG H, YANG Y N, et al.Oxidative dissolution of resoles: A versatile approach to intricate nanostructures[J]. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2018, 57(3): 654-658. [21] 王志龙, 葛毅成, 冉丽萍, 等. 水热法制备酚醛树脂球模板尺寸对ZnFe2O4空心球磁性能的影响[J]. 粉末冶金材料科学与工程, 2019, 24(2): 137-146. WANG Zhilong, GE Yicheng, RAN Liping, et al.Effect of template size of phenolic resin spheres prepared by hydrothermal method on the magnetic properties of ZnFe2O4 hollow spheres[J]. Materials Science and Engineering of Powder Metallurgy, 2019, 24(2): 137-146. [22] BIN D S, LI Y M, SUN Y G, et al.Structural engineering of multishelled hollow carbon nanostructures for high-performance Na-ion battery anode[J]. Advanced Energy Materials, 2018, 8(26): 1800855-1800863. [23] XIAO D J, LU C X, CHEN C M, et al.CeO2-webbed carbon nanotubes as a highly efficient sulfur host for lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Energy Storage Materials, 2018, 10: 216-222. [24] LUO D, LI G R, DENG Y P, et al.Synergistic engineering of defects and architecture in binary metal chalcogenide toward fast and reliable lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Advanced Energy Materials, 2019, 9(18): 1900228-1900238. [25] WANG H E, LI X C, QIN N, et al.Sulfur-deficient MoS2 grown inside hollow mesoporous carbon as a functional polysulfide mediator[J]. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2019, 7(19): 12068-12074. [26] HONG X D, LIU Y, FU J W, et al.A wheat flour derived hierarchical porous carbon/graphitic carbon nitride composite for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Carbon, 2020, 170: 119-126. [27] WEI B B, SHANG C Q, WANG X, et al.Conductive FeOOH as multifunctional interlayer for superior lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Small, 2020, 16(34): 2002789-2002799. [28] KONG L, CHEN X, LI B Q, et al.A bifunctional perovskite promoter for polysulfide regulation toward stable lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Advanced Materials, 2018, 30(2): 1705219-1705226. [29] CHEN M H, LI T Y, LI Y, et al.Rational design of a MnO nanoparticle-embedded carbon nanofiber interlayer for advanced lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. ACS Applied Energy Materials, 2020, 3(11): 10793-10801. [30] WANG H X, ZHANG B, ZENG X Q, et al.3D porous carbon nanofibers with CeO2-decorated as cathode matrix for high performance lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 473: 228588-228596. [31] WANG J W, ZHOU B, ZHAO H Y, et al.A sandwich-type sulfur cathode based on multifunctional ceria hollow spheres for high- performance lithium-sulfur batteries[J]. Materials Chemistry Frontiers, 2019, 3(7): 1317-1322.